Troubleshooting Sound Card Issues

Troubleshooting Techniques for Computer Sound Card issues

You don’t hear any sound output when you attempt to play mp3 or video files

Check the volume control on your speakers and within Windows and make sure it’s turned up and it’s not muted

Check and make sure the speakers have power

Make sure the speakers are plugged into the speaker ir audio output of your computer

Check the audio or video player that you are using and make sure the correct audio output is selected within it

No sound is heard while attempting to play audio CDs

Check the volume control and make sure it's turned up and not muted

Connect headphones to the jack on the front of the DVD/CD drive(If it has a headphone jack). If you hear sound, make sure the cd audio cable is connected from the sound card to the DVD/CD drive's cd audio out.

Check the speaker connections and make sure they are connected to the proper jack. The jack will most likely be lime colored

The sound card isn't detected by plug and play

Make sure the sound card is firmly seated in it's slot. Remove the card and reseat it.

From the device manager, select "Action" and then "Scan For Hardware Changes".

Attempt installing the sound card manually by selecting "Action" and then "Add Legacy Hardware" in the device manager

You Hear Static When you Play Files

Check the speaker cable for a firm connection or possibly a short in the cable

Check the speaker volume controls. If while adjusting the volume controls you hear static as you're turning the dial and it stops when you stop turning the dial, the speaker volume controls may be defective or the speakers may be blown

When you play audio files, they skip or play abnormally

Open the “Windows Task Manager” and under the “Performance” tab, check for an excessive cpu load on your computer’s processor. If the cpu load is high constantly, proceed to the “Processes” tab and search for processes in the list that are placing an excessive load on your cpu. And depending on the process, you may be able to terminate it and return your system back to a usable state. It just depends on the particular process. If it’s an application that has crashed and you have saved your work from the application, you may attempt terminating it’s process in the “Task Manager’s” process list.